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Newly acquired goaltender Steve Mason says he wants to be the player he knows he can be, and you can bet dollars to donuts the Philadelphia Flyers are hoping he’ll be just that.

Philadelphia acquired the 24-year-old former Calder Cup winner from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday for goaltender Michael Leighton and a third-round draft choice in 2015 in the hopes that the Oakville native can rediscover his game and, perhaps, make No. 1 netminder Ilya Bryzgalov and his rather expensive contract — a $5.667 million cap hit each season until 2020 — expendable.

It’s a long shot move, of course, but Philly really has nothing to lose. If the gamble pays off, great, if it doesn’t, well, the Flyers really haven’t lost anything.

“I’m ready to completely start fresh here in Philadelphia,” Mason told a throng of reporters at the Air Canada Centre on Thursday morning in his first official duty as a Flyer. I’m really looking forward to this and ready to become the goaltender I know I can be.

“I’m not sure what my role is right now, I haven’t really been told. To me that’s not my main focus. My job is to come in here and become the goaltender the organization believes I can be, and that’s to be a No. 1 goaltender. I’m fully prepared to put the work in and I’m really excited to start doing it.”

Mason’s game hasn’t been the same since collecting rookie-of-the-year honours in 2009 for winning 20 games and posting a 3.05 goals-against-average and a .901 save-percentage in 58 games and then improving on those numbers in his sophomore year. He left Columbus with just three wins in 13 starts this season and a .899 save-percentage and had lost the starting job to Sergei Bobrovsky. His numbers weren’t much better in 2011-12.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Mason is hoping a change of scenery will help.

“I’m looking at this as a fresh start. For the first time in almost three years, a real fresh start,” he said.

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Mason embracing fresh start with Flyers

Newly acquired goaltender Steve Mason says he wants to be the player he knows he can be, and you can bet dollars to donuts the Philadelphia Flyers are hoping he’ll be just that.

Philadelphia acquired the 24-year-old former Calder Cup winner from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday for goaltender Michael Leighton and a third-round draft choice in 2015 in the hopes that the Oakville native can rediscover his game and, perhaps, make No. 1 netminder Ilya Bryzgalov and his rather expensive contract — a $5.667 million cap hit each season until 2020 — expendable.

It’s a long shot move, of course, but Philly really has nothing to lose. If the gamble pays off, great, if it doesn’t, well, the Flyers really haven’t lost anything.